According to origo.hu, Mutanox does not deliver razor wire to Hungary, because of the Hungarian government’s refugee policy. By discarding the Hungarian order, the company loses half million euros (HUF 157 million) – British newspaper Metro wrote, tracked by HVG newspaper. The fence and barbed wire built at the Hungarian border became the symbol of […]

It was a momentous decision. Basta. For Marco Vido, who’d earned his architecture degree from the Politecnico di Milano in 1985 and went on to practice for 25 years in Milan and his native Como, including a stint collaborating with Studio Daniel Libeskind, the time eventually came to explore a new passion, painting. “I bet myself that I could do something else,” he says. “Architecture is a beautiful thing, but it’s always for a client. With painting, the client is me.” Vido still devotes approximately one day a week to his namesake firm, but he paints almost full-time. “Every day, I feel more alive,” he says. His themes, rendered always in the abstract, are vast: architecture, archaeology, mythology, jewelry, florals and seeds, freedom for Tibet, drought in Africa. There are also haunting crucifixions, despite the fact, he remarks, “I’m not religious.” Working in oil, acrylic, varnish, black bitumen, or graphite, on canvas or paper, he makes many of the pigments by hand. His art studio is part of the Como loft where he lives with his two teenage children. No, it’s not lakeside with proximity to the exquisite Grand Hotel a Villa Feltrinelli or George Clooney’s spread. The location is near an abandoned railway, bearing witness to a piece of local history, and the space, 2,900 square feet in a 1920’s textile factory, was completely empty when Vido arrived on the scene. He was overjoyed. “It’s difficult to find this type of loft in Italy. Most of them are cut up into little rooms,” he says. “This is like New York.” Intrigued by the churchlike proportions, a nave culminating in a half-transept where the two bedrooms now are, he was quasi-fanatical about preserving the industrial quality. Walls spattered with the tints used for textiles resemble faded frescoes. “They show the flavor of those who worked here before,” he comments. Exposed concrete beams are original. So are the iron-framed casement windows, immense enough to let in the vast quantities of light fundamental to an artist—the winter winds, too. “The drafts are original,” he jokes. His major interventions were but three. One was to install dark-stained oak floorboards. Another is a skinny sandstone platform that serves as his studio. The last is an assemblage of plasterboard volumes, painted black or gray, that contain bathing facilities and storage while articulating the division between the public area and the bedrooms. Plasterboard was chosen for its lightweight quality. “I think of the volumes as Anselm Kiefer sculptures,” Vido says, referring to a particular site-specific installation in an airplane hangar in Milan. “Yes, this is minimalism, and minimalism can be cold,” he continues. His own interpretation aimed for considerably more warmth—“domestic minimalism,” as he calls it. “Space. Air. To breathe. To dance.” He piles books on the floor and displays mementos on the windowsills. Though there are no doors anywhere, even the bathing area, the various function zones nevertheless possess an intimacy. Furnishings are either big-name designs, with international acclaim, or custom. The master bedroom’s platform bed and side tables are by Patricia Urquiola, while the living area’s surfboard cocktail table is Charles and Ray Eames. Made in 1960, it once belonged to Vido’s father, similarly an architect and a painter. “I’ve loved it since childhood,” he says. The black sofa accom-panying the table is Paolo Piva’s. Vido rarely stretches out on it, however. That’s because, if he’s not at the easel, he’s working at the computer that sits on the studio’s long custom desktop in marine-grade plywood—shared with the children when they’re doing homework. For the kitchen, he designed another long table, in chestnut, that partners beautifully with Hans Wegner’s black-lacquered chairs. Antipasti, pastas, and secondi are prepared at the stainless-steel island. In continuous flux is the selection of artwork, as pieces depart for group and solo shows. The exception is Barca Nera, representing Odysseus’s ship seen from the bottom of the sea—and consequenently permantly affixed to th

It must be summer because I can’t seem to get enough of houses that embrace the outdoors. Last week I featured Jill Bent’s Cape Ann cottage with its many windows and stunning views of the marsh. This time, we travel […]

The Gypsies - Romani people - are the unique nation in the world to live in distinctive national pockets on four continents and have no home land. 'Gypsy' is an exonym for Romani, Romany, Rroma, Sinti, Tzigani, Cigany, Gitans, Gitanos and some me...

THIS IS A MADE TO ORDER ITEM. This beautiful sword sheath was made to fit with The Lord of the Rings Anduril sword. It is made of cowhide leather and lizard leather scraps from an old job. We love to use until the last tiny bit of leather, so we keep all our scraps until they fit into some project. It has a protective brass motive at the end to keep the point of the sword safe. All hand made. If you have a special sword or dagger you wish to dress as it deserves, we'd love to help. The item can be totally customized. Pere Ventura Sara Ventura

Gothic, angel wings necklace collection by Le Boudoir Noir Jewelry. According to the myth, gazing directly upon Medusa would turn onlookers to stone, but those who set their eyes on this magnificent pendant featuring the enchanting creature of Greek mythology will just be astonished! With a pair of intricately detailed angel wings this gothic pendant in silver will sweep you off your feet and mystify you. At a closer look: The pendant is made of sterling silver plated brass components. It measures 3.5 inches (9cm) tall and 2 1/4 inches (5.7 cm) at its widest point. The silver chain (23 ¾ inches /60cm) has a lobster clasp and is fully adjustable –further customization of its length is available upon request. All metal parts are made of high quality sterling silver plated brass, made in the USA, also nickel and lead free. Complimentary gift wrapping in a decorated tin box (last photo) You can view more wing chokers and necklaces here :

The Athena II is a handcrafted Grecian-inspired headpiece made of brass leaves that have been intertwined to make a headwrap that is pure organic luxe. The leaves weave beautifully through the hair, and are very flexible so that you can shape the piece to conform to your head shape perfectly. The Athena II is an understated statement piece, perfect for earthy brides in creamy, dreamy Grecian drape gowns and lovely girls in pretty clothes. It will make you feel like a goddess. Promise. IMPORTANT: This headpiece is open in the back. If you prefer it attached, the Athena II is also available as a ribbon-tied headband. It looks gorgeous with silk or satin ribbon to tie it on. Please inquire for details. Unless you include a note in your order, I will ship it as an open headband. AVAILABLE IN THE FOLLOWING FINISHES: -Antique brass (showing in first photo) -Silver -Raw brass -Gold plated If you would like this made into a stefana for a Greek Orthodox wedding, the cost for the set, tied with ivory satin ribbon, is 140.00. Stefana sets are made to measure.

THE YOUNG ELITES, THE ROSE SOCIETY, and THE MIDNIGHT STAR (out Oct. 11, 2016) are a trilogy set in a fantasy, Renaissance-like world where magic is new and misunderstood. It stars a girl named Adelina who is essentially the teen female version of Darth Vader, and chronicles her downfall to the dark side. (WARNING: If you haven't read the book yet, be careful reading the user comments in the pins below! There are some spoilers!) | See more about The young, Assassins creed and Venice.

As electronic communication grows more pervasive, demand is growing for paid retreats where you have to surrender all electronic devices. One participant says giving up his phone for a weekend was "liberating"; another says she was inspired to observe tech-free Friday nights.

Jeff Luker's photography makes us want to get out and explore. From the desert to the beach, cliff-jumping to skateboarding, the unifying theme behind his work is its capturing of adventure and discovery — take us along for the ride, please! After working with him on our most recent men's lookbook, shot at the amazing Delaware Water Gap, we pulled Jeff aside for a few questions about exploring, trips to no-man's land, and his goals for fall. Can you share more about how you came into photography? How has your work changed over time? My whole life I have always had an obsession with documenting things via photo or video, whether that was snapping photos at family events as a kid or making skate videos with my friends in high school. I went to film school at Emerson College in Boston, but I ended up spending all my time in the darkroom working on photo projects. After school I was kind of restless, so my friends set out and we lived on the road for several months traveling all over the country and taking photos. And then I got hooked on that whole travel vibe and just kept going on trips taking photos. Eventually people saw my work were into it, so I got asked me to be in shows and magazines and shoot commercial, fashion and editorial jobs. Not much has changed as far as my approach, I still have the same outlook towards taking photos, but it became my full time job, so I get to focus all my energy on it. So I just feel blessed and I'm always trying to keep pushing the work to new places. What personal projects are you working on right now? I have been working on this project, the last few years, which eventually will end up as a book. The project is titled A Wilderness Condition , and it is a photographic study about the wild parts of America and our relationship with those places. It has been this ongoing project that I keep working and it seems like there is always somewhere else I want to go and shoot for it, so I am not sure when it will be done. So I don't really have a deadline but I'm just working on it continually in between shooting for other projects. Do you approach personal work with a concept in mind and develop work around that, or just go out and shoot and edit it down and tie it together thematically after the fact? My approach is pretty loose, it is just sort of always traveling and taking photos wherever I go. There are definitely places that I seek out because I want to photograph them. But I think it is important to be open and just let photos find you as well. My commissioned projects of course are more calculated because of timing and production, so I try to keep my personal work more organic and free forming and then I go back and look at all over my photos over several months and edit that together. What are some specific themes, concepts, or ideas that are interesting to you right now? I'm really into just big open spaces right now. I was driving through Idaho recently and there was this long stretch of highway that went through an old nuclear testing area, and it was just so sprawling and empty in all directions, no cars or buildings for miles. And I've been finding a lot of those places lately, sort of no man's lands, all over the west in places like Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico. I grew up on the east coast where it is super crowded and now I live in Portland, OR where it just seems like there are so many people camping and in the woods all the time you can't escape the crowds. I think as the world feels more and more crowded it has been interesting to be able to find and photograph these places that are away from everything, that really feel like the absolute middle of nowhere. What's your preferred format to shoot? Any particular camera, gear, accessory you are always loyal to? I shoot mostly 35mm film. It has always been my favorite format, just the size, dimension and the quality of the image. I always have a point and shoot film camera everywhere I go, either a Contax or a Yashica. But I'm really stoked on digital photography, so I've been shooting a lot of that too, love the Canon 5d Mk

elsa bear | I used to think I was a mermaid, and I was sure that if I sat in my wardrobe with my eyes closed and my hands on the back panel for long enough Narnia would eventually appear. I'm still waiting.